A guide to ordering custom White's or Nick's boots (and other MTO PacNW boots)

I've received a lot of questions about my pairs of custom made White's and Nick's (from left: Nick's in dark olive CXL, White's Bounty Hunters in #8 CXL, White's Bounty Hunters in Distressed Smooth), as there are so many options to consider that it can be overwhelming. Given all the confusion, I figured I'd try to put together a bit of a guide that will help interested parties to figure out their needs and wants, and in doing so, figure out the right boot for them. This may very well be a work in progress, as I'll undoubtedly forget some things, so don't hesitate to ask questions and I'll edit/build this as we go.

I'm mostly going to be discussing White's, as they're one of the more common manufacturers and they have the most options that are easily accessible, but Nick's should be very similar. Dayton's and Viberg also offers a similar style of boot, but it can be tougher to order a truly custom boot from them nowadays where you get to determine all of the options (you have to tour the Viberg factory to do a custom order through them, and I'm not 100% sure on Dayton).

Decisions, decisions:

Leather - What leather do you want your boots made out of? The thing that makes it difficult is the vast number of options available, and the fact that you can choose different leathers for different sections of your boot. One common example of that would be the "hotshot" configuration like this, where the toe vamp and backstay are roughout, and the rest is smooth leather. You can get pretty crazy, and if you look at a lot of White's built for the Japanese market, they often do...even with just one color. Personally, I prefer a single leather throughout, but that's just my preference, and there are certainly some boots that sway my opinion on that.. White's offers a whole lot of exotics, and I know Nick's offers some, too...so if you're looking for something less-than-common, that's very much attainable. White's' horsehide is supposed to be really nice, CXL is always nice when the clicking is done well (my #8 White's are impeccable), and I can't recommend their Distressed Smooth highly enough (takes an absolute beating and stands up to it better than any other leather I know of...yet it also builds a patina really quickly and looks a lot like natural CXL). Here's my pair in Distressed Smooth and here's a pair with Distressed smooth on the vamp and backstay, with Natural CXL on the shaft. Here are a bunch of photos of some of the different leathers that White's offers, but there are many more options out there in their "exotics." Both White's and Nick's are happy to send you samples of the leathers you're interested in, so don't hesitate to call and ask.

Lining - Do you want your boots lined in a thin leather? Most people recommend lining CXL to help keep some structure and I believe it can also help to prevent serious issues with loose grain (but I could be wrong on the latter point). In truth, I meant to have my Bounty Hunters in Distressed Smooth (notorious for being thick and heavy) built unlined, but I apparently failed at the internet that day and had them lined, and by the time I caught the mistake a few weeks later, it was too late. That said, I have zero regrets about that, and while I love a nice pair of unlined handsewns in the summer, I think I'd generally recommend lining all your boots during the winter. The one main exception from that would be if you're using roughout as your leather, as the inside of the boot will then already have the smooth leather, and thus you may decide the lining isn't advantageous. It'll add a tiny bit of weight to the boot and can potentially add a bit of warmth, however I wear my boots in summer and winter and they seem fine in either season (change socks accordingly).

Height - How tall do you want your boots? This measurement is taken from the top of the heel, so it's the height of the part that your foot fits inside of. I'd recommend anywhere between 5-10", but taller than that can be pretty difficult to fit and can lead to some serious upper leg chafing. For reference, most boots made by Red Wing and Wolverine are in the 5-6" range (Beckmans are 5" and Iron Rangers are 6"), and the Red Wing 877 is an 8" boot. My boots in the picture at the beginning are 9" Bounty Hunters and 6" Nick's. I generally like the feeling of a taller boot for ankle support and protection, as well as there's something about the feeling of putting on a tall boot. Man stuff, I guess.

Top trim - Do you want the top of your boot to end with a cut across the top, or for them to roll that top leather down to avoid an unfinished edge? I prefer the look of the cut top, and that helps to save $15, but I find this to be an question of aesthetics and nothing more. Cut top or Roll top.

Logo - Do you want a logo stamped onto the shaft of your boots? On White's taller offerings (i.e. not their Semi Dress) they'll generally stamp their logo onto the top of the shaft of the boots. I prefer mine without, so I just request that there's no logo stamp when I order my boots. On the flipside, if you wanted a logo stamp on your Semi Dress boots, you can ask for them to do so (apparently popular in the Japanese market).

Pull tab - Do you want a loop of leather at the back of your boot at the top? I like them on my taller boots to help pull them on (and for the aesthetics), but prefer to avoid them on shorter boots as they can often get stuck on the cuff or your pants, which is a very unfortunate look. If you buy boots in shell cordovan (White's was and maybe still is offering their SemiDress in #8 shell), I'd skip the pull loop as it will likely break under pressure (the woes of poor tensile strength).

Hooks vs Eyes - Do you want eyelets going all the way up your boot, or would you prefer speed hooks towards the top? On taller boots, I'd generally recommend a mixture of hooks (speed hooks) and eyes (eyelets), as the eyes will look nicer and hold your laces in place while they're not being worn, and the speed hooks will be much quicker to put on and will be hidden when wearing pants (boots and shorts are not allowed together...it's a fact). Another option that they offer that I like is to have eyes at the bottom (White's generally does 4 pairs, but I prefer 5 pairs at the bottom to ensure the hooks are being shown), then hooks, then one last pair of eyes at the top. This gives you something a bit more secure at the top to ensure they won't slide out of the hooks (something that's admittedly never happened to me), and for me, I like how it prevents anything from getting in the way if/when you wrap your laces around the top of the boot before tying your knot.

Hardware Finish - What color do you want the hardware on your boots which you put your laces through? There are a few options here (black, nickel, brass, or antique brass...which is less shiny), and this is purely aesthetics.

Toe Design - Do you want a plain toe, a cap toe, or a perforated cap toe (with holes/broguing at the end of the cap, which White's often calls a medallion toe)? I often like cap toes both for aesthetics and function (it's an extra piece of leather on the top of the boot to protect your toes and the leather beneath the cap), but be forewarned that a lot of White's toe caps look a bit wonky, and for that reason I have yet to order a pair of White's with toe caps. My next pair of Nick's will likely have a toe cap, as I think their toe caps look much nicer.

Toe Structure - Do you want a soft toe (no add'l structure), a steel toe (for safety on the job site), or something in between via a single or double celastic toe? My Nick's have a soft toe and will collapse a good deal over time, but both of my pairs of White's have single celastic toes as I like that little bit of protection on my feet (not nearly as tough as a steel toe, but helps when you drop something on your feet or kick something). To be honest, I'm not really sure why someone would want a double celastic toe, as I find the single celastic to be ample...but I guess given my older pair of White's have collapsed a bit in the toe over time even with the single celastic, maybe people get the double celastic to ensure that the toe stays nice and prominent. It's my understanding that a single celastic and soft toed boot will look very similar straight out of the box, and the only thing that will change the shape on the soft toe is time and wear, and that it'll collapse w/o the celastic lining. I believe "celastic" is just a fancy term for plastic. I would advise against a steel toe unless you need it for work, because it can detract from comfort and feel really cold.

Last - White's offers a variety of lasts in their different boots, and that's up to both what your feet like (fit-wise) and what your eyes like aesthetically. I really like White's' semi-dress last, as it's still very much a work boot aesthetic, but it isn't quite as bulbous or blobby as some of the other options. Some lasts will lead to an upturned toe (like White's' Swing last), so do your research into the different lasts offered by the different manufacturers to see what works for you. White's' "Bounty Hunter" is really just their "Smoke Jumper" boot made on a semi-dress last, and that's my boot of choice by them. If you wanted a shorter version of that, go for their "Semi-Dress" boot...just note that it does not have the same backstay as the Bounty Hunter (which has an extra layer of leather on the back for protection), as it's meant to be a bit more formal/less-work-ish.

Lace Design - Do you want standard lacing (what you've seen in 99% of the photos in this summary and most of what you see online) or lace-to-toe lacing, where the laces go a bit further down towards the toe and look like this. These are often known as "monkey boots" or "lineman boots."

Midsole - How thick do you want the area between the outsole on the bottom of your shoe and the boot itself? Single, Double, or Triple? The thicker it is, the tougher that part of the break in will be, but some people love a thicker insole for protection (stepping on a nail) and for their supposed added durability. My White's are plenty tough, and I definitely beat them up, so I haven't felt the need to go past the single midsole. There's also an aesthetic element, as some people think a taller boot should have a thicker midsole, but given you only see the bottom of the boot, I don't buy that argument. In the Japanese market, they often want the thickest insole you can ever imagine, and will get them resoled accordingly. This is the blog of a Japanese guy famous for his thick midsoles/resoles.

Edge Dressing - What color do you want your midsole? Do you want it left natural (light brown), dyed to a dark brown, or dyed to black? This is purely aesthetics aside from the natural means there has been no edge sealant applied, so you may want to do so at home or ask Baker's (more on them later) to seal the edges for you.

Trim - How wide do you want your midsole sticking out horizontally from the boot? White's and Nick's generally come with a double layer stitch along the midsole in their stitch-down construction. Here are my Nick's with the standard trim (two layers of stitching) and here are my White's where I requested "close trim" which means a single layer of stitching and that the midsole is shaved down closer to the boot. This is mostly aesthetics (I find White's' standard trim to be a bit too wide/frisbee-esque for my taste), but supposedly a standard trim can help give you a few more rebuilds out of your boots. One thing to consider is the size of your foot. On a smaller boot, the standard (double) trim will be more prominent in relation to the boot, whereas a larger boot will make the wider edge less apparent. Edit: u/a_robot_with_dreams described it well elsewhere: "Edge refers to the color, whereas trim refers to the width of the shelf. Edge can be natural, brown, or black. Trim can be wide (normal) or narrow. Narrow means there will only be one row of stitching, whereas wide means there will be two."

Half-Slip - A half slip is really just half of a midsole that starts at the middle of the boot and goes all the way to the back of the boot...like this. It's meant to give a bit more rise to the heel, and is generally done on a wedge sole, like the Vibram Christy. I have never felt the need to get this on mine.

Heel Shape - Do you want a block heel (90 degree angle) or a Cuban heel (curved heel)? This is a hotly contested topic when discussing Pacific Northwest boots, and some people care waaay too much. In my opinion, it really comes down to aesthetics, but some advocates for the Cuban heel argue that it helps keep a natural gait. Many consider it to be a geographical thing, and that west coasters are more likely to embrace the Cuban heel and East coasters are generally more likely to order the block heel. Given I'm planted firmly on the East Coast (literally typing this while staying at a cottage on the beach for a few days), the cuban heel just doesn't fit with my aesthetics, wardrobe, or surroundings. That said, I think the cuban heel is beautiful, and some people pull it off really well...I just like the block heel on my own feet.

CONTINUED IN COMMENTS (sorry for yelling)